Sunday night a group of us took in Southern Culture On the Skids, backed by Los Straightjackets at Fitzgeralds in Berwin. A fabulous evening all around.
My buddy hosted 12 of us at his crib a couple of blocks from the show (providing fried chicken and banana pudding!) Los Straightjackets were ON FIRE, w/ Eddie Angel proving once again that he is one of (if not THE) best surf guitarists alive.
SCOTS rocked the joint, playing many of my faves from starting off with “Too Much Pork” to wrapping up the 1st encore with “Daddy was a Preacher” and the traditional chicken-eating/stage-dancing “Eight Piece Box.” Then, after half the club emptied, they came back to play a 2d encore featuring a marathon version of Link Wray’s “Rumble.”
Then we headed back to my buddy’s place to lower the boom on all of the leftover grub!
What a night! And I was reminded once again that Mary Huff is just about the most perfect woman alive. Smart, beautiful, sexy, funny, sings like an angel, enjoys her liquor, and plays ONE HELL of a bass!
Gonna be a tough show to follow. Not much on the horizon until I take the kiddies to see Joan Jett a month from now.
Funny you would ask. I’m in countdown mode on a show tonight that I’ve been looking forward to for at least a month now. The Business (oi legends from London), Flatfoot 56 (bagpipe streetpunk from Chicago), and the Lucky Scars (great American oi band from Florida) are playing at my “home” venue tonight. Prelibation at my place, then we’ll roll over to the bar as a group and take over a corner of the floor. Cheap beer, good friends, plenty of singalong favorites, and a day off tomorrow! (It’s all about planning.)
Knock it back, have another one, drinking and driving is so much fun!*
*lyrics do not reflect our careful use of designated drivers - thank goodness for straightedge friends!
Los Straitjackets are awesome. About 12 years ago, my buddy says, say you want to go and see a band playing surf guitar wearing wrestling masks? Sure, I say, and there was about 13 people at the venue and Los Straitjackets just fucking tore it up. I hung out with them afterwards and bought them a round of beers. I’ve probably seen them 5 times since. I’ve got about 4 of their albums. The one with the guest vocals is particularly awesome.
I went and saw Flight of the Concords the other night. Those guys are hilarious. It’s just Jemaine and Bret playing on stage and cracking jokes. ARJ, the dude who plays the clerk in Flight of the Concords was the opening act. The guy is really funny and managed to write a bunch of Santa Barbara specific material.
For old times sake, I went up to the Bay Area to see The Dead at Shoreline Amphitheater. It was just like old times, we caravaned in a VW bus, played hackeysack and did the full on parking lot scene. Too bad they didn’t let us camp out. Bob Weir is looking pretty much like Jerry these days, but I shed a tear in his memory. The guy who played Jerry’s parts was also touring with the Allman Brothers and he was playing Duane Allman’s parts so the two bands were trading off nights.
Very pedestrian, to be sure, but we caught Elton John in one of the last of his Red Piano performances. Two weeks ago we saw Jimmy Buffett at the MGM Grand, and are going back this weekend to see Fleetwood Mac.
The really fun part about these concerts is that they were all free. Totally comped, even the hotel rooms. I love Vegas.
I saw *Unwigged and Unplugged *a couple weeks ago- it was a great show. Guest, Shearer and McKean are really talented singer/songwriters, and funny as hell. It was part concert, part comedy act.
No, I haven’t seen any good concerts lately The last two I went to see were Forever the Sickest Kids opening for some band I hadn’t heard of, and they weren’t that great, I didn’t get a good place (which, being the House of Blues, were much closer than most people ever get to a band they like, but still,) and the bands before them weren’t good so I left before the opening band.
Then a couple weeks ago I went to see Saves the Day open for Alkalike Trio. Although I was in the front 5 rows at least, this time, Saves the Day didn’t play many of my favorite songs, although they did play At Your Funeral which is their best concert song. But the only Alkaline Trio song I knew well was Radio, which they did play and was awesome. But two songs do not a concert make. But at least I did find out about Nightmare of You which was probably one of my favorite bands I hadn’t heard of that I’ve ever seen in concert (but it still won’t make up for a relatively weak headliners experience.)
But next month I will be seeing Manchester Orchestra at a very tiny club in downtown Orlando. They’re sort of an indie version of Dashboard Confessional, with a lot of audience participation. They’re bound to be good no matter what, right? I hope so.
We saw Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder at the Warren in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. They were great. Ricky is striving to make sure we remember the greats who came before him.
In a couple weeks, we’ll see Lucinda Williams at the Vogue. I’m really looking forward to it.
Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal will be playing the Lawn at White River Park, dammit. My poor knees can no longer handle standing up or sitting on the ground through a whole concert. Long ago, I sat and stood on concrete through rock shows, but I can’t do it now.
I saw the Shins a few weeks ago and they were terrific. It’s awesome how they play some songs just like you are used to hearing, and other songs they totally mix up and they sound much different. They also played a bunch of new songs that haven’t been on any CDs. Terrific show.
Before that I saw Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. As good as you would expect from legendary type people. It was a lot of fun. And, as usual, Robyn had plenty of surreal silly stuff to say between songs.
Therapy? are still around? I loved Troublegum; I’ll have to check out their newer stuff.
I went to see the Killers in concert a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t expecting much since it was a small arena show, but I was blown away. There’s something about 7,000 people jumping up and down in unison and screaming that really gets you going. And it was LOUD. I’ve only just recovered my hearing.
Saw the Decemberists last week on their Hazards of Love tour. I honestly hadn’t warmed to the album at all when the concert rolled around. Now after hearing them do it live… I’m in love.
I help book shows for my radio station and I, of course, only book good stuff. Our last show, a week or so ago, was Calvin Johnson with Ian Svenonius was particularly amazing - two legends of indie music who could still totally throw down. Next up is Mika Miko and Coathangers, an almost all girl punk show which will also be amazing. Can’t wait!
Awesome, they’re still going! I’ve seen them three times previously and they’ve been brilliant each time. They are one of the few bands I can count on one hand that I would always pay to see again, instead of filing them in the “yeah, I’ve seen them” folder.
I just got back from the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazzfest) and was, like each year, blown away by the diversity and strength of the line-up…
Neil Young, Tony Bennett, Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, Kings Of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Wilco, James Taylor, George Clinton and P-Funk, Joe Cocker and of course all of the New Orleans based bands like the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, various Marsalis Family combos, etc.
This was my 13th consecutive year at Jazzfest, and as a live music lover, I can tell you it is the world’s premier music festival, held in a city famous for amazing music!!!
The last two I went to see were Forever the Sickest Kids opening for some band I hadn’t heard of, and they weren’t that great, I didn’t get a good place (which, being the House of Blues, were much closer than most people ever get to a band they like, but still,) and the bands before them weren’t good so I left before the opening band.